NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, Va. — Nestled along the shores of the Northern Neck, the DNA of the Reedville area is defined by the Chesapeake Bay.
A body of water locals call unmatched in its beauty, but ripe with dangers.
When trouble strikes boaters on the bay, know they can count on one group of men and women.
Few people remember a time when Smith Point Sea Rescue was not plying these waters.
The 40 members of the nautical nonprofit respond when professional fishermen or pleasure boaters experience problems from the simple to the severe.
“We have a very dedicated crew on Smith Point Sea Rescue,” member Dan Stone said.
They answer the call at a moment's notice, 365 days a year.
“So we cover all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay to the Rappahannock River,” Dan Benjamin, who is Smith Point’s president, said.
“It is similar to a volunteer fire department. We are all volunteers in Smith Point,” explained Dan Benjamin.
On April 1, rescuers faced one of their most challenging calls in a half-century of service.
“When I heard people in the water I dropped everything and came,” member Bill Turville said.
A 50-foot yacht heading north to New Jersey sprung a catastrophic leak.
A moment later, the vessel disappeared beneath the choppy waves.
“There is nothing that gets us driving so fast to the boat or in the boat as a report that there is someone in the water,” Benjamin said.
Rescuers with Smith Point respond immediately as eight people struggled alone with no one else in sight.
“Their boat is on the bottom. It is still out there,” member Robert Gwaltney said.
The friends, desperate for help, clung to debris and each other while floating nine miles from land.
“This is near buoy 62 in the main shipping channel in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. The boat sank there in 90 feet of water,” Benjamin said. “These people were in the water for 40 minutes. There were lives hanging in the balance as the boat headed out there to help them."
Smith Point Sea Rescue roared to the scene, but with rough seas, Gwaltney said it was impossible to find the people bobbing in the water.
“It is as frightening as can be because you know you don’t have long,” he said.
Finally, the first responders located the victims who were wearing life vests and equipped with a handheld radio.
“He directed us to them. We did not find them. They found us,” Turville said.
The conditions of the five men and three women were worsening.
The volunteers, including Pete Ortiz, pulled the people on board one by one.
“There was one person who was hypothermic,” Ortiz said. “Because some of them had a shocked look on their face. We try to reassure them that things are going to be okay.”
When Rescue 1 returned to shore, EMTs were waiting to treat the grateful boaters.
“This is the most significant event I’ve ever been out on,” Turville said.
Miraculously everyone on board the doomed vessel lived.
“Hugs and “thank you’s” like you wouldn’t believe. Very appreciative,” Gwaltney said. “Seeing them walk away is thanks enough.”
Bill Turville said the accident could have ended much differently if the boaters remained in the water a little longer.
“They wouldn’t have survived," he said.
Fast thinking, brave, and selflessness define these maritime volunteers like, Don Stone.
“It is rewarding to help people on the water whether it’s giving them gas or towing them in or saving their lives. It is very rewarding and makes you want to go back out and do it again,” Stone said.
Smith Point Sea Rescue lives by one motto: On the Northern Neck, neighbors help stranded neighbors and strangers alike.
“We go wherever they are whenever it is,” Benjamin said. “It is extraordinarily gratifying to help someone in distress. We know what to do. We do what needs to be done. Problem is solved."
Smith Point Sea Rescue doesn’t receive one penny in funding from local, state, or federal coffers.
The dedicated volunteers operate and rely entirely on donations.
If you would like more information about Smith Point Sea Rescue click here.
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